It Was Always You
by readwritereview20
Summary: After being shot in the foot by Tris at the end of Divergent, Eric wakes up in a hospital room where he runs into an old friend. Spoilers for Insurgent [Eric/OC]
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I got the idea for this short story (it's going to be 5 or 6 chapters long) into my head and I had to write it! For those of you who read my Distance series I will post again soon, but this idea was demanding to be written.**

**Obviously I am not Veronica Roth, I do not own Divergent or Eric.**

**Chapter One**

"_Interesting theory." _

I sit straight up in bed, skin coated in cold droplets of sweat, the stiff's words still ringing in my head. The throbbing pain in my foot yanks me from my thoughts and I look around the room, finding myself in a strange bed, in what appears to be a hospital room.

I try to swing my legs over the side of the bed, but the sharp pain that shoots up my leg stops me from moving any further. I hear a pained growl echo through the sparsely filled room, like it is coming from someone else and not from me.

A moment later the door opens and I can hear the soft click of shoes on the hospital floor. My eyes are closed in a pained grimace, but when I hear the newcomer's voice they flash open.

"I have to say," She says with the same humor **i**n her voice that she always had, "You Dauntless sure know how to settle your differences. And to think, I've been settling my arguments with facts and words all these years, when I could just be shooting people."

If I weren't in so much pain right now, I might laugh, "Are all the nurses in this hospital this sarcastic?"

She chuckles as she glances over my chart, "Who said I was a nurse?"

"Oh," I reply with a smirk, "Do you make a habit of wandering into stranger's hospital rooms and posing as their nurse?"

She turns to me, smacking my in the arm, "I'm a doctor idiot, and I definitely wouldn't call you a stranger, Eric."

I nod and try to get out of the bed again, "So can I go…"

She rushes over to my side of the bed, placing a hand on each shoulder, "Whoa, where do you think you're going?" I stop resisting and sit back on the bed, looking to her for an explanation, "The bullet penetrated your foot between your second and lateral cuneiform, you need surgery."

I lie back down on the bed with a sigh, "Damn stiff."

"Stop being a baby," she replies before walking back over to a table and retrieving a set of electrodes and wires. "May I?" She asks softly, seeming slightly awkward.

I don't take my eyes off of her as she lifts the hem of my shirt and places the first lead on my left side. The mixture of the cold air hitting my exposed skin and the warmth of her fingers creates a strange but not unpleasant feeling. "How have you been, Mikala?" I find myself asking, and immediately regretting the fact that I just imitated small talk with someone. What the heck is wrong with me? I'm supposed to be intimidating, a leader of a faction of warriors.

She smiles, apparently grateful for the distraction, "Better than you apparently." She replaces my shirt and grabs the second lead, "I have been well, I completed the medical training a couple of months ago."

"You haven't been a member of Erudite for a full two years much less a practicing doctor and they are letting you near a leader with a knife?" I ask.

She scowls at me for a moment before laughing, "Have you always been such an asshole? Or was this a personality trait you developed after you defected?" She presses the adhesive side of the second lead to the right side of my chest, "I'm not preforming the actual surgery, I was assigned to you because we have history, they figured you would take the news better coming from me."

"You told them about our history?" I ask, raising and lowering my eyebrows suggestively as I say the word 'history'.

She lets out a small growl as she places the third and final lead, "I mean because we were friends as children. Now I think you should try to rest, before I get in trouble for punching one of my patients in the face."

I study her for a moment, "Mikala?"

She pauses and stares right back at me for a moment, her green eyes meeting my grey orbs, "Yes, Eric."

"Is it too late to request another nurse?"

She takes a deep breath and the soft look she had a moment ago is replaced by one of pure annoyance. After a moment she shakes her head and turns to leave. She pauses at the door, like she has something to say, but seems to decide against it and leaves the room without another word.

**So, let me know what you think! I love feedback!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another short chapter, hope you all like it. And thank you to ****GraveyardGirl666****, ****SallyEllen****, ****Zen0207****, ****Ali07241997****, and ****pmollymay**** for supporting this story.**

**Chapter Two**

I wake again, feeling like I am seeing the world through a layer of fog. It takes me a moment to remember where I am, but after a while it all comes flooding back. The pain in my foot has been reduced to a dull throbbing; I hope that is a good sign. I try to sit up, but my arms are refusing to co-operate.

"Anesthesia and pain killers are a fantastic mix," I hear a female voice comment dryly from over my right shoulder. I turn my head as far as I can to find Mikala is sitting in a chair to the right of my head; her legs folded under her body and a very old looking leather bound book in her hands.

She no longer has her lab coat on and is wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt, "Are they paying you to baby sit me or are you just so in love with me you can't bear to leave?"

She smirks, still not looking up from her book, "You wish." After a moment she pulls a blue ribbon from her lap and puts it in the book as a bookmark. She slides the book into a small dark blue messenger bag and stands, "How would you rate the pain in your foot?"

"I seem to remember you coming on to me last time," I reply with what I hope is a smirk.

She rolls her eyes, "Pain. Rate it, one to ten."

"Three."

She nods, "That's good, although when the pain medication wears off I have a feeling your answer will be different, if I see your nurse I will have her order more."

"Well, you're just a ray of sunshine," I reply, deciding it's my turn to be sarcastic.

She rolls her eyes again before seeming to remember something, "A dauntless man stopped by a while ago, I believe his name was Max, he said to tell you he would come back by to fill you in on the new plan when you were awake."

She turns and begins to grab her things, but I grab her arm, "You didn't answer my question."

"I just chose to sit with a friend who had just had surgery," She replies like it is a stupid question.

I continue to smirk up at her, "I knew you still had the hots for me."

She stares at me for a moment, an emotion that I can't quite identify flashes behind her eyes. "I think the medication has made you lose a few brain cells," She finally replies, "Although part of the neurological damage probably occurred about two years ago."

I stare back at her, still holding her arm. I consider several different possible responses, but in the end I settle for doing what I do best, being an asshole, "Whatever you have to tell yourself so you can sleep at night."

She shakes her head and gently pulls her arm away before turning to leave. She stops at the foot of my bed, "I sleep quite well, I'm not the one who left."

**I will probably update again tomorrow, Monday at the latest. Let me know what you think! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, I am soooo sorry that it took me forever to post this. Life has been ridiculously crazy lately. Thank you all for reading and special thanks to pmollymay for reviewing last chapter (I'm glad you liked the chapter and Mikala).**

**Chapter Three**

I sit on the edge of the hospital bed, idly staring at the wall, lost in thought. I hear the soft click of familiar footsteps on the linoleum floor. When they come to a stop outside my door I run a hand through my damp freshly washed hair self-consciously.

I hear her knock softly before pushing the door open before I have a chance to tell her to come in. She steps into the room and shuts the door softly behind her, "Jeanine sent me to show you to your office." She walks over to the foot of the bed as she talks, never actually looking at me as she picks up my chart and writes something on it.

"Finally," I reply, reaching over to grab a shirt from the bag of black clothes that someone brought me earlier. "I am so sick of being cooped up in this room."

"Stop being a baby," She replies, finally looking over at me. She freezes, only her eyes move as they roam over the tattoos and scars that decorate my upper body. After a moment she shakes it off and continues scolding me, "You've only been here for a week, in the old days an injury like that would have had you laid up for weeks.

"Like what you see?" I ask as I finish pulling the black t-shirt over my head. Once it is on, I glance at my right shoulder, my eyes landing on the blue band someone has attached to the shirt.

She shrugs, "eh, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

I push myself to my feet and grab the bag of clothes from the bed, "Lead the way."

She nods befre leading the way from the room and toward the elevator at the end of the hall. It is obvious that despite my attempts to hide my limp that she has noticed it when she slowers her pace a little to match mine. I growl softly, I can't afford to have people seeing me as weak, especially now.

Once the elevator doors close and we are alone, she turns to me, her green eyes studying me, taking in the way I'm standing. She reaches into her lab coat pocket and retrieves a pill bottle, "Pain killers." When I open my mouth to protest, she shakes her head and reaches around me to stick them in the bag, "I know you are trying to act all big and tough, trying to act like the pain doesn't bother you, but nobody has to know but me."

I growl, "I don't need your pity or your pain killers."

She scoffs, "Just shut up and take the stupid pills."

I find myself dropping the bag, and turning fully to face her. I lean in until her face is just a few inches from mine, "You know what I think?"

She opens her mouth to reply, but before she can the door opens and I turn to find three sets of inquisitive eyes studying us. I clear my throat and take a step back, grabbing the bag of clothes and striding out of the elevator. She follows me out, nodding in greeting to one of the members of the group waiting outside. She steps in front of me and I follow her in silence through the halls of the Erudite compound.

She stops at a door and pulls a key out of her pocket, once the door is open she steps inside and waits for me to follow. The room is good sized and is fairly well furnished; containing a desk with one chair behind it and two in front of it. The wall to my left is lined with bookshelves and I get the distinct impression that this was originally someone else's office.

"They cleared out the storage room," She says gesturing to a door in the back right corner, "There is a bed in there for you and that door," she gestures to another door in the front right corner of the room, "Is the restroom. "

I nod in reply, tossing the bag behind the desk and turning back to the woman in front of me. "Well I guess this is it," I say and by the look in her eyes, her mind has gone to the same memory as mine.

"_Well I guess this is it," Mikala comments through a yawn, stretching herself out across the foot of her bed, "My report is done, your report is done, we just have to turn these in tomorrow before the aptitude test and we are done with school." _

_I move from her desk chair to sit next to her on the bed, "This is so weird, knowing that I am not going to have homework tomorrow night." _

_She stares at me for a moment, "Well not unless you count making a decision that will impact the rest of your life as homework." _

_I laugh and let myself fallback so that I am lying next to her, "No, that is life, not homework." _

_She nods before turning onto her left side and propping herself up on her elbow, "Are you scared about what the test will tell you?" _

_I follow her example and prop myself up on my right elbow. "Of course not," I reply trying my best to sound confident in my reply, "The test will tell you what to do, you can't really fight your own mind." _

_She smiles, "So you'll trust the test implicitly? Even if it tells you that you are meant for Amity?"_

_I roll my eyes, "We both know it won't tell me that I belong with the tree huggers." _

"_But what if it does?" she asks, there is something in her eyes that I don't quite understand. _

"_Are you actually worried about my results, or your own?" I ask with a smirk._

"_Both," she replies softly. It takes a minute for her words to sink in, and I have barely come to the realization that she is trying to tell me that she is afraid that I am going to leave, when I find my lips connecting with hers. For a second I think that I have misread the situation because she is completely still, but before I can pull away she is kissing me back. _

_A few moments later we have moved from the foot of the bed to laying the right way across her bed with me on top of her. Her hand finds the hem of my shirt and I immediately start on the buttons of the light blue button up I wore to school today. _

_She smiles against my lips as I tug on the hem off her shirt and I find myself wondering how studying turned into this, whatever this is._

She smiles at the memory for a moment before seeming to shake it off, "Well, I'll leave you to settle in."

She turns to leave and I find myself to no longer be in control of my body, I reach forward and grab her arm, a bit more forcefully than I would have liked to, and pull her back to me. My lips are on hers and after a moment I feel one of her arms snake around the back of my neck as the other runs slowly up my chest.

After a moment she pushes back on my chest and pulls away from me. She gasps for air for a moment, "We can't do this."

I lean in and kiss her jaw, "Why not?"

"W-well," fumbles over her words for a second before her resolve renews and she pushes me away again, "You are my patient, I can't be involved with one of my patients."

"Not anymore," I reply with a smirk, "I believe that you just released me from the hospital."

"And," She starts, quickly placing a hand on my chest to stop me from leaning in again, "We belong to different factions; we are barely even aloud to be friends much less anything more than that."

"I think this blue armband here might disagree with you," I reply with a smirk.

She studies me for a moment before she growls and curls her fingers in my shirt and pulls me back toward her. "Damn you and your logic," She mumbles just before my lips crash into hers once again.

**Well, let me know what you thought. :D**

**I will put the next chapter up tomorrow.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Anyone still out there? ;) I hope you guys liked last chapter and like this one as well. I'll update again asap! I don't own Eric or the Divergent world.**

**Chapter Four**

I wake to the sound of my alarm clock blaring; I growl and close my eyes more tightly, hoping that the infernal machine will give up its quest to draw me from the warmth of my bed.

"Are you going to shut that off, or do I need to borrow your gun?" I hear Mikala mumble into my chest. After a moment she sits up, clutching my blanket to her chest, "Oh god, what time is it?"

"Six-thirty," I reply lazily without bothering to sit up.

"Crap," she groans, climbing out of the bed and taking the blanket with her. "Crap, crap, crap," She continues to mutter as she searches the floor for her various articles of clothing.

I fight to stifle a yawn, "What's wrong?"

"I was supposed to be at the hospital for my rounds an hour and a half ago," She mumbles as she continues to comb the room looking for her left shoe. She finds it and quickly scurries out of the closet that is serving as my room and to the bathroom. She reappears a moment later, fully dressed and her red hair knotted into a bun. She stands in the doorway for a moment before softly clearing her throat, "Well, I guess I'll see you around."

I stare at her for a moment before nodding in agreement, "Yeah, that's probably the smart idea." She nods solemnly before turning to leave. I climb out of the bed, thankful that I woke up in the night and pulled on a pair of boxers or this might be awkward, "Or, we could just ignore logic and see each other again tonight, catch up on the last two years."

She raises an eyebrow at me, her eyes lighting up with pure mischief, "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to sit around and talk."

I pull her to me and press my lips to hers before pulling back, "Oh, I forgot, you're in a hurry to get to work."

She rolls her eyes before pushing her lips against mine again. After a moment she pulls away, "I really do have to go to work though, I'll see you later." And with that she disappears through the door and I am reminded of a similar morning two years ago…

_I wake to the sound of a door downstairs being slammed shut. I sit up and try to take in my surroundings. Although most of the rooms in Erudite houses are the same: book shelves, a desk, a bed, and a lamp; the subtle differences between my own room and this one jump out at me. I start to sit up, but find a second slightly smaller body tangled up with mine. Mikala's red hair is splayed out across my shoulder and arm, her head is resting on my chest. _

"_Kala?" I whisper, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her gently, "I think your dad is home."_

_She groans and snuggles closer into my chest, "Shh, it's way too early for talking, Er…" She sits up suddenly, her eyes wide with panic, "Oh crap." _

_The sound of footsteps on the stairs sends Mikala hurtling out of the bed. I lay there for a second marveling at the fact that I have never seen a person move this quickly before. She has all of my clothes gathered in her arms before I have time to blink. "Closet. Now." She growls, and I find myself scrambling out of her bed and rushing into her closet like my life depends on it, which if the look in her eyes is any indication, it does. _

_I watch through the crack in the door as she climbs back into her bed and flips the light on, grabbing a book from her bedside table. A few moments later the door opens, her father walks in and sits at the foot of her bed, "I thought I heard something in here. Why aren't you asleep?" _

_She puts the book on her lap, "I was having trouble sleeping, I guess I'm just too nervous to sleep." _

_He nods, "You have no reason to be nervous my dear, I know you will make the right decision. You are intelligent and logical; I am not worried at all." _

_She smiles and he leaves the room, once his footsteps have faded she drops her head and pulls her knees to her chest. I walk as quietly as possible back to the bed and sit next to her, "Are you okay?" _

"_No," She whispers softly, "How am I supposed to follow my heart, make the logical choice, when any choice but Erudite means disappointing my father. I'm all he has left since mom died." _

"_Well, whatever choice you make, you have to do it for yourself and not anyone else. It's your life; you should never feel bad about doing something that makes you happy," I say before leaning in and kissing her. After a moment she smiles back at me, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to climb out the window before your dad catches me." _

_She laughs softly and I turn to put the rest of my clothes back on before sneaking out of her house and back to my own. _

I am brought out of my memories by the sound of the alarm on my watch going off; I am supposed to be at a leadership meeting in five minutes. I dress quickly and rush out the door toward Jeanine's office, hoping that this day goes by quickly so that I can make up for lost time with Kala tonight.

**Well, let me know what you think if you have a moment.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! Sorry this took me a while to get up; life's been crazy. I still don't own Eric or the Divergent world, unfortunately.**

**Chapter Five**

"So," I ask between bights of pasta, "What do you want to talk about?"

She sets her fork down on her plate, and the look in her eyes tells me that I'm not going to like her question. "Well," she says with a smirk, her green eyes lighting up as she leans in and rests her elbows on my desk, "There is a question I have been waiting to ask."

I slump down in my chair, instantly understanding where this is going, "You could ask that question, OR, we could discuss all of my worst fears, that would be fun, right?"

She laughs for a moment, before her face snaps back to being dead serious, "Nope."

I take a deep breath and down the rest of my can of bear, "Okay then, go on."

"Why did you leave?" She says after a moment, "And none of that 'I can't tell you because it's against the rules crap'."

I think it over for a moment; I can't tell her the truth but lying to her now just doesn't seem right. The more I think about how to answer her, the deeper I slip into the memory of the reason I did leave.

_I walk out of the aptitude test room feeling positive; the test told me to do what I had already wanted to do. I know that Mikala will stay here, no matter what her test says, I doubt she will leave her father. I turn the corner to go back to the waiting room, when I nearly run into an Erudite man in a blue suit. _

"_Eric Michelson?" The man asks gruffly, "Jeanine would like to speak with you." _

_I nod and follow him out the doors of the school and to a waiting car. The man and I sit in silence all the way to Erudite, and once we arrive he only speaks again to tell me that Jeanine will be waiting in her office. I find my way to her door and knock, after a moment she tells me to come in._

"_Eric, it is excellent to see you. How was your test?" She asks as she studies me over the table, sizing me up like a wild animal. _

"_It went well," I reply, ringing my hands together in my lap. _

_She nods, picking up a file and scanning the top page, "I see here that you received an Erudite result." _

_I cough nervously and am fairly certain that my eyes have doubled in size, "You have my results? I thought that the results were sealed until after the choosing ceremony."_

_She chuckles, "Of course they are," She replies in a patronizing tone. "These were extenuating circumstances," She adds as she sets the file down. _

"_What do you mean?" I ask._

"_First I must ask, are you loyal to Erudite, Eric?" She replies, still sizing me up like I am a small wounded creature she can easily devour. _

"_Absolutely," I reply without a moment's hesitation. _

"_I am quite glad to hear that," She replies with a smile that makes me want to back out of the room slowly. "I have an assignment for you," She adds, "Are you willing to commit to our cause?"_

"_What do you mean, commit?"_

_She shakes her head, "I need an answer, yes or no?" _

_I think it over for a moment. I have no intention of leaving Erudite, so what could the harm be in agreeing to whatever project she has in mind. And being on Jeanine's good side certainly can't hurt, especially after initiation. _

"_Yes," I reply, and after she stares at me for a moment I clarify, "Yes, I am committed to Erudite." _

_She nods, "Well, now that I know you are truly committed and loyal, we can change your result and I can fill you in on the plan."_

"_Wait, what?" I ask, nearly jumping out of my chair. _

"_I am sending you to Dauntless. We are in the process of forging a very important alliance with Dauntless and I need an ally on the inside who is loyal to Erudite," She replies as if it is obvious._

"_Dauntless?" _

_The question reverberates in my head as I make my way home and it is not until I feel myself bump into something as I walk home that I am brought out of my thoughts. I turn to apologize, but instead find Mikala standing next to me. _

_She bumps my shoulder again playfully, "Where have you been, stranger?"_

_I take a deep breath before shaking off my worries and smirking back at her, "You noticed?" _

_She glances around before standing on her tip toes and kissing me. As she pulls away she smirks up at me, "Maybe."_

_I can't take this anymore. For a moment I consider begging her to defect to Dauntless with me, I have very little doubt that she would say yes. But, I can't ask her to base the entire rest of her life on what I am choosing tomorrow. She would have to leave her father; and what if she was planning to choose another faction. _

_Finally, I take a deep breath and kiss her on the forehead, "You had better get home, your father will worry." _

_She smiles at me, "Alright, I'll see you at the ceremony tomorrow." She starts to turn away, but stops and looks back at me; I can see in her eyes that she wants to ask me something. After a moment she turns and throws her arms around my neck, she stands there and hugs me until the sound of distant voices causes us to break apart. "Goodnight, Eric."_

"Eric," Mikala's voice pulls me from the memory. When I look up her hand is in front of my face and she is snapping her fingers, "Earth to Eric."

"Oh, I was just thinking," I reply quietly.

"Mhhm," She says with a smirk, "You still haven't answered my question, and telling someone the truth shouldn't require five minutes of thinking."

I roll my eyes and decide that she is right; if I really care about her I will tell her the truth, "Jeanine."

"What?" She asks, glancing over her shoulder as if she expects the terrifying woman to be right behind her.

I laugh, "No, I was answering your question. She wanted someone on the inside to assure that this plan went smoothly."

"Did she choose you because you got Dauntless on your test?" She asks.

I shake my head no, "Erudite." She stares at me for a moment before breaking out in an almost hysterical fit of laughter. "I'm cutting you off," I reply with a chuckle as I move her wine glass out of her reach.

"No," She manages to get out between laughs, "It's just funny, you got Erudite on your test and defected. I got a different faction on my test and I stayed."

"Interesting," I comment. When she makes no move to elaborate after a few moments, I lose patients, "Out with it! What was your result?"

She scrunches up her nose, "You're going to make fun of me." I raise my beer to my lips and motion for her to continue. She smirks, "Candor."

"Oh, that explains so much!" I say, unable to control the chuckle that leaves my mouth.

She stands, trailing her hand along the edge of my desk as she makes her way to me. When she reaches me she sits on my lap, "What is that supposed to mean?"

She trails her hand along my jaw, "Well, I… I don't remember."

She smiles and has just leaned in to kiss me when there is a knock at the door. She jumps off of my laugh and sits on the edge of the desk as I go to answer the door.

"Max," I greet my fellow leader.

"Eric," He returns my greeting, "We had to move up our plans for Candor, I'll see you downstairs in the lobby in five."

He leaves and I make my way back to the desk, "I have to go."

"So I heard," She pouts.

I smirk and pull her into my arms, "Can we finish this later?"

"I suppose," She replies with a shrug, "Eh, if I have enough time."

"I'll make it worth your while," I put in as I brush my lips against hers. She smiles as she pulls me all the way to her; as she melts into my arms I find myself wishing that I could just stay here and forget about being a leader or Dauntless at all.

She finally pulls away, "I'll see you as soon as you get home."

I nod and pull her back into my arms, content to have this moment for now and the expectation that as soon as this war is over, I may just still be able to have the life I wanted.

**Let me know what you thought.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long. I wrote this forever ago but life has been crazy and I just haven't been on to post it.**

**I don't own Eric or Divergent.**

**Chapter Six**

I wake in a hospital bed for the second time in as many weeks.

"Damn stiff," I manage before beginning to cough loudly. As soon as I'm on my feet again I'm just going to strike preemptively and kill the little brat.

The horrific pain radiating from my chest is enough to make me want to strangle the next person I see, but at the moment I doubt that I have the strength. I can feel the cold beads of sweat rolling down my skin. I am about to try to get someone's attention to ask for some pain medication, maybe even see if someone can get Mikala for me, but then I catch sight of the symbol on the opposing wall.

The sight of the uneven scales causes me to feel utterly deflated as I realize that I am still at the Merciless Mart. I am trying to plot my escape when the PA system springs to life. There is a long ring followed by two short ones before I hear Jack Kang's voice boom through the speakers.

"Attention all occupants of Candor headquarters: A few hours ago I met with a representative of Jeanine Mathews. He reminded me that we candor are in a weak position, dependent on Erudite for survival, and told me that if I intended to keep my faction free, I will have to meet a few demands.

In order to comply with these demands, I ask that everyone make their way to the gathering place to report whether you have an implant or not. The Erudite have also ordered all Divergent to be turned over to Erudite. I do not know for what purpose."

This is not good, not good at all. It all happens so fast; after Jack's announcement a group of angry Dauntless burst into the room and I find myself being drug through the halls. Through the haze brought on by the searing pain in my chest, I am vaguely aware that I have been taken to a large open room and shoved into a chair.

The dauntless are positioned around me in a semi-circle. Finally, Tori from the tattoo parlor steps forward, "Would you like me to tell you your crimes?" She asks, sounding tired, "Or would you like to list them yourself?"

The room is illuminated by a flash of lightning and the following thunder shakes the room. Rain streams in through the windows and runs down the wall. I find myself thinking about Kala, does she know that this is about to happen?

I can't let myself focus on her, appearing weak is the last thing I need right now. If I'm going to die, I'm going to be Dauntless till the very end.

I scan the crowd until my eyes land on the stiff. It looks like I won't be around long enough get my revenge, but at least I can mess with her head a bit before I go. "I'd like her to list them. Since she's the one who stabbed me, clearly she is familiar with them."

"Leave her out of this," Four growls.

"Why?" I ask with the best smirk I can force, "Because you're doing her?" I almost flinch at the sound of Kala chastising me for being an ass in my head, but I ignore it and continue. "Oh wait, I forgot. Stiffs don't do that sort of thing. They just tie each other's shoes and cut each other's hair." Four doesn't react, so I continue, "I want her to list them."

The stiff surprises me by complying, "You conspired with Erudite. You are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Abnegation. You betrayed Dauntless. You shot a child in the head. You are a ridiculous plaything of Jeanine Matthews."

The smile on my face fades; the worst part is that it's all true. "Do I deserve to die?" I ask, trying my best to sound smug, but knowing that I am failing miserably.

Four starts to answer but Tris cuts him off, "Yes."

I nod, the blatant honesty reminding me of Mikala again, "Fair enough." I take as deep a breath as I am able to before banishing her face from my mind again, "But do you have the right to decide that, Beatrice Prior?" I think back to the tapes from the security cameras, of her and her family sneaking into Dauntless, of her father asking her a similar question. "Like you decided the fate of that other boy-what was his name? Will?"

She looks taken aback so Four steps in, "You have committed every crime that warrants execution among the Dauntless. We have the right ti execute you, under the laws of the Dauntless."

I watch as they prepare the guns. Standard Dauntless execution procedure, only one of the three guns will have a bullet in it. I think about Mikala again, and for a moment I consider asking for a favor. If they are this angry, they will inevitably strike out against Erudite next. In times like this, people tend to see a faction as a whole instead of being made up of individuals.

"Wait, I have a request," I find myself saying.

"We don't take requests from criminals," Tori growls tiredly.

That one sentence hits me like a slap across the face. Maybe tying her to me will make her more of a target, if anyone knows that she was with me it will only put her in more danger. I decide to go back to my original strategy, "I am a leader of Dauntless and all I want is for Four to be the one who fires that bullet."

"Why?" Four asks.

That's a good question, why do I want him to be the one who kills me? "So you can live with the guilt of knowing that you usurped me and then shot me in the head."

"There won't be any guilt," He replies quickly.

I smile, "Then you won't have any problem doing it."

He grabs one of the bullets and starts to load his gun, "Tell me, because I've always wondered. Is it your daddy who shows up in every fear landscape you have ever gone through?" Four continues to focus on his gun, but his shoulders have tensed up. "You didn't like that question? What, afraid the Dauntless are going to change their minds about you? Realize that even though you've only got four fears, you're still a coward?"

I smirk, satisfied with my last words and straighten in the chair, planting my arms firmly on the arm rests and tightly shutting my eyes. I think about Mikala again, how I promised her that I would come back. I sigh; maybe she is better off without me.

"Eric, be brave," Four's voice instructs, sounding much farther away than I know he is.

I keep my face blank and focusing my attention on the mental image of Mikala's face. She is better off without me; after all, I'm always leaving without saying goodbye.

**The End.**


End file.
